STOP THE MILLSTONE PAYOUT ASKS "WHAT DOES MILLSTONE HAVE AGAINST TRANSPARENCY?"

MILLSTONE'S LATEST "FILING"RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PLANT'S NEED FOR AID

Hartford, CT -- A day after the Millstone Nuclear Plant failed to file meaningful financial data with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) and the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA), the Stop the Millstone Payout coalition today called out the plant owner's lack of transparency on an issue that’s critical to Connecticut’s already overburdened ratepayers.

“Over two legislative sessions, Millstone has spent countless resources attempting to convince policymakers that they are financially vulnerable and in need of special assistance to stay afloat in the future,” said coalition spokesperson Matt Fossen. “Yet, when the state takes the obvious step of asking for financial information to verify Millstone's claim, the plant repeatedly refuses to disclose even minimal financial information. With hundreds of millions of dollars at stake, Connecticut’s leaders are asking the right questions, but Millstone is stonewalling every step of the way.”

Under the state’s inquiry, initiated by Governor Malloy's Executive Order (EO) and jointly conducted by DEEP and PURA, Dominion Energy was initially supposed to submit requested information by August 29th. In a filing made yesterday (after receiving a three week extension), Millstone still refused to provide key information about its revenues, operating and maintenance costs, fuel expenses, future capital expenses, annual earnings and cash flow, depreciation and state income taxes paid, forecasted operating and maintenance expenses and more.

Millstone also did not seek to file any of this information under a protective order, which is routine in agency proceedings.

“After a three-week extension, an explicit ability to disclose confidentially, and abundant opportunity to prove its case, Millstone has yet again resisted providing information that would allegedly validate the very claims they make,” continued Fossen. "It's hard to imagine that anyone would buy claims that Millstone refuses to back up in writing."

According to a study by Energyzt, a special deal for Millstone would cost ratepayers $330 million per year, translating to a 15% to 20% increase in supply costs. A study by MIT furthermore found that Millstone will be the most profitable nuclear plant in the United States through 2019, while a New England States Committee on Electricity report showed that “under every hypothetical scenario,” New England’s nuclear units, including Millstone, will remain profitable through 2030.

“Every shred of public evidence says that Millstone is profitable, and will be for years,” concluded Fossen. “Their failure to provide any information to the contrary isn’t helping their case. Even with the chance to make their case with complete confidentiality, they didn’t. We urge legislators to contemplate what this suggests, and stand strong against Dominion's latest attempt to subvert transparency.”